vk2rh: a blog about ham radio

  • International Marconi Day

    Today is International Marconi Day. He was born on this day in 1874 in Bologna.

  • Extreme solar close-ups

    Hot science news of the day is the series of startling close-up images of the sun in full roar. ABC Science has a story with local scientific analysis of the unprecedented pix provided by the Solar Dynamics Observatory which was only launched on 11 Feb this year. A comprehensive set of images and downloadable video clips is…

  • The Lost Tribes of Radio Shack

    An article appeared on the WIRED site recently about the re-branding of RadioShack, a mirror of the same change happening to Australia’s iconic Dick Smith Electronics stores. The subtitle sums it up: ‘Tinkerers Search for New Spiritual Home’. ” The new bosses want to turn RadioShack into a hipper, more mainstream place for “mobility” — which is…

  • Wouxun KG-UVD1P

    I’ve had my Wouxun KG-UVD1P for a few weeks. I ordered it from a Hong Kong based dealer for US$105! I also ordered a USB programming cable. The radio works well and has a very pleasant audio to listen to. However I was never able to get the original progrmming cable to work. I tried…

  • Start at 35wpm and you’ll copy at 25 in no time

    Fantastic approach: “You can copy 25 wpm in three weeks, with just 15 min a day practice. Start at 35 and work down… You listen, and listen some more. Use the W1AW practice run that starts at 35 wpm. After a few weeks, 25 wpm will sound slow, and you should be able to write…

  • Ham Radio’s Technical Culture

    Kristen Haring’s book “Ham Radio’s Technical Culture” is a fascinating coverage of an activity that gets precious little coverage in the mainstream. “”Although approximately one million Americans operated ham radios in the course of the 20th century, very little has been written about this thriving technical culture in our midst. Kristen Haring offers a deeply…

  • QOTD straight vs paddle

    Quote of the Day from David N1EA in an exchange on the CW list about the merits of a CW newbie starting with a straight key or jumping straight onto a bug or paddle: “A paddle and speed key in the hand of someone who has no feel for Morse sounds pretty ugly when they…

  • Hearing EME with QRP gear & homebrew antenna

    Congratulations to Julian G4ILO! He managed to hear EME signals with his FT-817 and a homebrew antenna. Read all about it here and hear the signals. Also interesting side stories about RFI sources and soundcards & recording audio off-air.

  • K3WWP’s site

    I’ve only just discovered K3WWP’s CW and QRP site via NW7US’ http://cw.hfradio.org/. Amazed at the continuous record of publishing online since 1996 and the simple but powerful commitment to have at least one CW QRP QSO every day (a little like the necessary resolution of any half serious blogger!). What a model! And what a wealth of good…

  • ‘Buddipole in the Field’ by Scott NE1RD

    This is a great US$15 value! Only downside I can see so far is that after reading it you come out with a new wishlist of Buddipole accessories such as the 9.5ft whips, the shockcord mast, the longest shockcord whip and other bits and pieces. Scott is great at explaining the most efficient ways to…

  • Windows soundcard software

    Via the new SDR list heard about RV3APM’s page listing a very wide range of ‘Windows software via Soundcard’. It’s a comprehensive, detailed and at the moment very up-to-date listing. Also includes handy information about frequencies for different modes, discussion groups and other background info about soundcard modes. I wonder if there’s a comparable listing of Mac…

  • Digging out useful info on gear

    Spent a bit of time visiting WW2PT’s site and reading the thread of messages tagged with ‘K3’. It’s great when you discover someone who has followed a similar path to the one you’re on and can write about with a combo of wisdom and wit. A key post is this one ‘Concerning computers’ about getting his K3 to talk…